Govt ropes in NE agency to monitor development projects using satellite

The government has roped in an agency of the Department of Space to monitor development projects in the north-east through satellite, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. The Shillong-based North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) has been tasked with monitoring some of the projects being undertaken by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through the satellite to check submission of false utilisation certificates, he said.

"There has been many instances in the past when false utilisation certificates were submitted to the DoNER to get funds. We have been successful in completely ending this practice. We have also roped in the NESAC to monitor some of the projects through the satellite," Singh told reporters here. The NESAC is a regional space centre established under a joint initiative of the Department of Space and the North Eastern Council.

Singh said because of tightening of procedures, the DoNER has received utilisation certificates for various projects worth more than Rs 900 crore since January this year. "If we don't receive the utilisation certificates, we don't sanction the next project," he said.

The minister also complemented the governments in the north-eastern states for their cooperation in implementing the projects. "As the political landscape has changed in the north-east, we got more cooperation," he said.

All eight north-eastern states -- Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland,  Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim -- are currently ruled either by the BJP or its allies. Singh also pitched for replicating in Jammu and Kashmir several initiatives that are currently being implemented in the north-east.

"The topography is same, geography is same, there is cultural similarities, there are similar agriculture, horticulture products," he said.